


Chances Are Afterwards

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/F, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-27 18:19:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10038023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: After the events of Chances Are, there is still a lot to explore with their relationship.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I still had some ideas I wanted write for Dash/Danny/Kwan after the main story finished.
> 
> First Afterward: Dash video chats with Valerie and Paulina.

"Okay. Can you see me?" Dash adjusted the screen, hoping the camera was capturing him and not cutting off half his head.

"Yeah, we can see you just fine." Paulina smiled brightly, looking as lovely as ever. She kept her hair long, and currently, she had it pulled up with wavy locks cascading down over her right shoulder.

While Paulina looked happy and excited, Valerie sat next to her wearing a dark scowl as she glared at the camera. "We need to talk."

"I can't believe you're dating Kwan _and_ Danny!" Paulina sounded overjoyed by the news Kwan had shared with the two women earlier. "I'm so happy! I was afraid you and Kwan were never going to find someone to be with." She flushed, shrinking back slightly. "Not that there's anything wrong with not being in a relationship."

"I get what you were trying to say, Paulina." Dash smiled. Paulina had changed a lot since their high school days. She still prided herself on her beauty, but she was no longer, as some certain people might have said, shallow. She did a lot to help out in the community where she lived. Volunteering at soup kitchens and donating supplies to needy children, to name a few.

"Of course, you know what this means now." Valerie leaned forward, looking rather intimidating.

"Not another shovel talk." Dash sighed. "I already got it from Jazz and Manson. Foley tried, but I think he was too terrified of me to truly threatening. Manson, on the other hand-" He shuddered, recalling the vivid details she included with her threat. Jazz only needed a look to make Dash practically swallow his tongue in fear of what she would do if he hurt her brother.

"I think there's a rule that once you start dating someone, you call them, and their friends, by their first name." Valerie's mouth remained a thin line.

"Sorry." Dash lifted his hands. "Force of habit. But you really don't need to come at me with the shovel talk. I have no intention of messing this up. I - This feels like the right relationship for me. I've been in relationships where I thought I loved someone before, but those ones never felt like this. I'm determined not to mess this up. And if I do, I will gladly hand myself over for punishment because I will have truly screwed up my entire life."

Valerie squinted at him then, with a sigh, leaned back. "Okay. Fine. I guess we can skip the shovel talk. Danny already knows if he does anything, I'll kick his butt."

The tension melted out of him, and he could relax. "So how was Christmas? Your dad came up this year, right?"

"Yeah," Valerie smiled, but it was sort of sad, "I kind of wish he lived closer, but for whatever reason, he still likes living in Amity Park. I miss it. Sometimes. But I think it was good to get out of there after high school."

"Yeah, but your dad enjoyed coming out here to see your fight." Paulina smiled as she leaned on Valerie. "I love my Papa, but sometimes I wish he would give us some more space. It's a bit overbearing when he tries to be all protective all the time. He doesn't even have to worry about boys now anyway."

"Of course not." Valerie grinned, lifting one arm to flex her bicep. "Any guy dumb enough to try anything will have to deal with me."

"I pity any man that dares to anger you." Knowing Valerie was the Red Huntress only made Dash even more wary about getting on her bad side. Even before knowing about it, Dash never wanted to give Valerie a reason to punch him.

"So," Valerie leaned forward, "Kwan and Danny didn't really go into detail beyond telling us about your relationship."

"I'm still surprised you're okay with all of this." Dash cracked a crooked smirk.

Valerie rolled her eyes. "We're not exactly living in the stone age here. I've been wanting Kwan to find happiness for ages, and I kept wanting to kick your butt since he was so madly in love with you. I'm just happy that you dumb knuckle heads finally opened your eyes to see what was right in front of you."

"So how does it all work?" Paulina folded her arms over her knees as she leaned forward slightly. "Isn't it a little awkward having sex with two people at once?"

"Paulina!" Valerie twisted around to stare at her girlfriend like she just asked the most scandalous question of all time.

Dash's face burned bright red. "Uh, well, that hasn't - we haven't exactly gotten to that point yet." He rubbed the back of his neck, unable to even look at his friends.

"I know Kwan and Danny are both the type not to pressure you into anything you're not ready for. And I get wanting to take your time and ease your way into things, but," Valerie pointed a finger at him, "there's a difference between taking things slow and being too scared to take the step forward. Sex isn't the end all be all of a relationship, but if that's an intimate step you want to take in this relationship, then don't let fear keep you stagnant. Kwan and Danny will take things at your pace, so there's really nothing to be scared about."

"I know! I get that!" Dash threw his hands up. "I just get all flustered when I think about actually doing what I've been thinking about." He sighed, rubbing at his forehead. "But that's just one of the hurdles we're working on overcoming."

"This is such a weird side to see," Paulina said, frowning like she wasn't sure how exactly she felt. "You always seemed so confident with whomever you were dating."

"That was with women." Dash raked a hand through his hair. "I knew what I was doing there. With another man? Two men, at that? I'm utterly clueless."

"I guess it's good that both Kwan and Danny have some experience in that area. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help you with it." Valerie grinned suggestively.

Dash couldn't stop the heat creeping over his cheeks and crawling to the tips of his ears. "Can we stop talking about the sex now?"

"Okay. Okay." Valerie held up her hands. "But we're rooting for the three of you."

"Yeah," Paulina agreed. "Next time we come out there, we should all go out together. Like a double date sort of thing."

Dash smiled, happy for their support. He still wasn't sure how he was going to tell his mother and sister about their relationship. His sister already had enough to think about with a baby on the way without him adding his relationship with two men as something else for her to worry about. "We'll definitely do that," he said, nodding.

"Dinner's ready," Kwan called.

"Sounds like I have to go."

"Don't keep your boys waiting." Valerie winked while Paulina grinned.

"Talk to you later." Paulina waved.

"Yeah," Dash nodded again, "talk to you later." They hung up on the call, and Dash got up from his desk to join Kwan and Danny for dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kwan has difficulty get to sleep.

Kwan laid on his side, staring at the wall. It was barely past one in the morning, but despite his best attempts, he couldn't fall asleep. It was silly, really. Things were going well with them. They had some arguments, but that was normal. A few arguments ended with them spending some time apart to clear their heads before they came back together and resolved whatever set off the fighting.

One argument started after their first time running into a violent ghost while on patrol. Danny kept trying to push them out of the way and protect them like they were still the pair of scared fourteen-year-olds that ran screaming when they saw a ghost. Dash was furious about it. He was the kind of man that wanted to prove himself capable, and he certainly didn't want to be seen as weak, especially to those for whom he cared. It took Dash a few days to cool off and realize Danny only protected them because he didn't want to see them get hurt.

Kwan rolled over onto his back. His eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness to make out his boyfriends in the bed with him. Dash took up most of the middle of the bed, sprawled out on his back. He still had a scar from where Bryce stabbed him. Kwan was certain the scar was a reminder to Danny of his failure to protect Dash. It felt that way to Kwan, too. When he saw the scar, he sometimes hated himself for not reaching his friend sooner.

Sighing, Kwan tried to shoo away those thoughts. Even though they bought the bigger bed two weeks ago, this was only their fourth time sharing it together. They were trying to ease Dash into everything, and he seemed to be more encouraged about being intimate with them. They still needed some time to learn each other's sleeping habits. Dash seemed to like pushing them nearly off the bed, and he may have succeeded on a smaller bed.

Danny slept curled up on the other side of Dash. Kwan sat up a little to see him better then frowned. At first, he thought Danny was simply sleeping. But Danny's body was shaking, and he curled up so tight he looked tiny on the big bed. Kwan practically leapt up when he heard a quiet whimper. He scrambled over Dash then over to Danny's other side.

"What's going on?" Dash murmured, half awake as he rubbed at his eyes.

"Danny?" Kwan placed a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. His heart felt like it was beating in his throat. Danny always held himself with such confidence and joked about his various encounters with ghosts and other supernatural beings that it never occurred to Kwan that Danny might suffer nightmares from some of the truly terrifying encounters. Danny probably downplayed those ones just to keep his boyfriends from worrying too much.

"No," Danny whined in his sleep. His hand curled around the bed sheet.

Dash was awake instantly, sitting up with a curse under his breath. "Is it a nightmare?" He must have come to the same conclusion as Kwan.

"Stop!" Danny shouted.

Kwan and Dash both grabbed his hands as Danny lashed out, but thankfully he didn't shoot off any ectoblasts in his sleep. Danny fought against them, and a few times, he slipped through their hold when he went intangible. After several minutes, the three of them lay on the bed in a tangle of limbs and each one breathing heavily.

"Were we doing something and I fell asleep during it?" Danny asked warily.

"You were having a nightmare." Dash managed to untangle himself then laid on his side facing his boyfriends.

"We tried to wake you but couldn't." Kwan frowned.

"Oh." Danny scratched his head, falling silent.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kwan prodded but tried not to sound too pushy.

"And don't say it was nothing," Dash added firmly. "You know Kwan won't drop it."

"I've been trying not to act too much like a mother hen," Kwan argued.

"It's-" Danny sighed. "No, you're right. I shouldn't just shove this to the side and act like it's nothing." He sat up, folding his legs, but despite the relaxed posture, he seemed tense. "Back in high school, I got a glimpse of a possible future. And," his breath was shaky, "I turned into this really evil jerk after my family and friends were killed." He rubbed at his arm, his head bowed. "That version of me did some pretty bad stuff. I've always been scared that something will set me off down that path, even now despite that I'm older than I was in that possible future."

"You could never turn evil," Dash said in complete disbelief. "You're way too good a person for that."

"But with the right trigger," Kwan glanced at Danny, "anyone could turn evil." He took Danny's hand and squeezed it. "We won't let that happen to you."

The corner of his mouth curled up in a small smile. "Thanks." Danny reached up with his other hand and rubbed at his eye. "I try not to think too much about it now. Logically, I know I'm not going to become him. But it creeps into my dreams sometimes, and I feel like I'm right back there battling against him and terrified of the future he represents."

"I still can't imagine you turning evil." Dash shook his head, but he reached out and took hold of Danny's other hand. "But we'll do whatever we can to stop it if we see any hints that you might be turning evil."

They sat there on the bed, silently holding Danny's hands, and it reminded Kwan of how they held his hands on both the plane ride to Amity Park and the one back home. It seemed the gestured helped to calm Danny too. The tension eased out of his body, and hopefully the details of the nightmare faded with his tension so he could sleep peacefully for the rest of the night.

"Thanks," Danny said softly. "It really means a lot to me."

"You're," Dash said hesitantly, "not the only one that fears becoming something bad. And I'm not trying to steal your moment or anything here. But," he scratched his head, "I still have nightmares of turning out like my dad."

Danny shook his head. "Did you think I'd get mad?" His voice was light and teasing, which was a relief. If Danny was able to joke around, Kwan knew things were all right. "But," Danny added, this time in a harder tone, "don't think for a second that I'm just going to ignore this. You mentioned something at the airport, and now you talk about nightmares about your dad. I'm not going to pressure you into telling me, but if we're going to work as a couple, we should be able to talk about these things eventually."

Dash made a frustrated noise as he raked a hand through his hair. "That's why I feel like I'm hijacking this conversation. We're supposed to be helping you with your nightmare."

"I get nightmares all the time." Danny shrugged. Then he seemed to realize what he said, and his head twisted toward Kwan. "You really don't need to get all worried about it. And I swear I'm not trying to be tough or anything. Jazz realized pretty quickly that I got nightmares from ghost fighting and stuff, and she taught me some ways to deal with it. I guess having her be so interested in psychology wasn't always such a bad thing."

Kwan's mouth pursed slightly, and his eyes narrowed. "I suppose I can't go too overboard with worry if Jazz already talked to you about it." Jazz was a very intelligent woman, and from what Kwan understood, she was a great psychologist. She would know far better than he did how to help Danny deal with reoccurring nightmares.

"Trust me. Jazz wouldn't let up about it, and what she taught me actually helped." Danny turned his head back toward Dash. "And you don't need to feel bad about hijacking a conversation if there's something you want to discuss. Whatever you need to talk about is just as important. There's still so much I don't know about the both of you, and I want to learn everything I can." Danny squeezed his hand, and Kwan assumed he was also squeezing Dash's hand.

Dash took a deep breath, the shaky kind that rattled nervously in his chest. "My family wasn't perfect. Far from it. My dad was pretty much every kind of -ist you can think of. Every day, there was some new lecture about how homosexuality was ruining the country and how people who didn't define themselves as their assigned gender were just seeking attention and how people of basically any skin color but pure white should go back to their own country. Like we didn't invade this country and steal the land from Native Americans." Dash's voice turned hard and cold.

Kwan shifted so they sat in more of a circle than a line. He took Dash's free hand and held it tightly. "You can just imagine how much Dash's dad liked that his best friend was Asian."

"Don't forget that Paulina is Hispanic and Valerie is black."

"He's probably rolling over in his grave right now."

"Good. He deserves to suffer." Dash sighed. "But that's getting off topic. My dad had anger issues, drinking issues, and when he was in a certain mood, the words went away and the fists came out. It took me a long time to realize I was taking out my anger at my dad on everyone else. And since I thought you're family was so perfect, I ended up picking on you the most. I see now that you were dealing with a whole lot of shit yourself."

"You didn't know any better about mine than I did about your family life." Danny shrugged. "But I'm sorry you had to deal with that. It had to be tough."

"I hated it, but I had Kwan to keep me sane. Despite any rifts it caused with my mom and sister, I'm just glad all of his abuse was aimed at me rather than them."

"Well, if he became a ghost, you can bet I'll give him a few hits for you." Danny freed his hand and held up a fist, casting an eerie green glow around the bedroom.

Dash snorted, his mouth curling slightly. "Appreciate it, but I really hope that bastard just died and didn't turn into a ghost."

"I'm still mad that he wouldn't let me tell anyone about it," Kwan grumbled, shooting a glare at Dash. "I kept trying to get him to talk to someone, like Lancer, but he wouldn't hear it. I _hated_ seeing the bruises your dad left on you."

"I probably should have listened to you, but I was an idiot back then."

"I think we were all a little idiotic back then in some fashion." Kwan rubbed a sweaty hand on his leg. "Since we're all talking about things that give us nightmares," he swallowed nervously, "sometimes, I wake up scared that this is all just a dream. For a brief moment when I wake up, I think I'm in some shitty apartment, alone, barely managing to pay rent while looking for yet another job because I was fired from my previous one. I know that doesn't compare to either of your fears, but the idea that _this_ is a dream terrifies me."

"It's not a contest about whose fear is more important than the others." Dash squeezed his hand tightly. "We all have our own issues, and they're all important and valid."

Kwan smiled. Hearing Dash say things like that made Kwan realize just how much his friend had grown since high school.

"I guess that whole thing with the guidance counselor really got to you though," Dash added with a frown.

"As odd as it is, making me believe I'd become homeless in the future really did wake me up and get me to start thinking about my future." Kwan bowed his head, feeling a little embarrassed. "Because of that, I focused on becoming a teacher, even if my parents completely hate that decision. She was terrible as a counselor, but maybe I would have actually become what she said I would if she hadn't scared me with that comment."

"I guess she wasn't all bad," Danny said, but the frown on his face said he was still angry about something, "and I'm glad that because of that, we all ended up here. But I'm still bitter about the fact that she tried to kill Jazz."

"Wait. What?" Dash shouted. Then he winced, hunching up his shoulders. "That was pretty loud, wasn't it?"

"I think you're okay." Danny chuckled, patting Dash on the shoulder. "And yeah, you see, that counselor Spectra, she fed on teen angst to make her look young. What better way to get a giant fix than to kill off the most cheerful student, my sister, in front of the whole student body?" He frowned, his fist squeezing tighter as the glow brightened. "That's not something I just forgive and forget. We may have a truce now, but I'm not forgiving her for that."

Kwan placed his hand on Danny's fist. Despite the fiery glow, it was actually cool to the touch. "I don't blame you for that. I would probably feel the same if she tried the same to someone I cared about."

"You managed to stop Spectra and save Jazz in the end," Dash said. "Wow, that came out soundly rather blasé. I just mean that things turned out well. Argh!" He scratched at his head in the way he did when he was frustrated. "That's not coming out right, is it?"

"It's okay." The flickering fire around Danny's fist faded to a soft, gentle glow. "It's in the past now. And Jazz saved me that day too, so I wasn't the only hero." A big yawn stopped him from saying anything else.

"I guess it's pretty late," Kwan said, wincing, "and we do have work tomorrow."

"Yeah," Danny agreed tiredly, "but I'm glad we did this. Talk about this stuff. It was good for us."

Kwan nodded, feeling like they grew closer after sharing their fears with each other. "Let's have our next talk sometime when we don't have to worry about falling asleep during classes the next day." After agreements and rounds of goodnight, the three of them lay back down, drawing the covers over themselves. Somehow, Kwan ended up in the middle this time. Resting his head on the pillow, he smiled as Dash pressed up behind him and Danny curled up in front of him, sandwiching Kwan comfortably between them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny likes to support his friends, even if that friend happens to also be an ex of his.

Danny clapped, applauding as loudly as possible. Next to him, his boyfriends, Celeste, and their fellow teacher Mary cheered as the cast of the play bowed. Front and center, Hayley bowed alongside her cast mates. The smile on her face couldn't be bigger or brighter. There were some hiccups with the play, but they were small things that the cast were able to step around like they didn't even happen. The play was, overall, a huge success, judging from the overwhelming applauds from the audience.

When the curtain closed, they filed out of the small theater then waited in the lobby area. It was several minutes before Hayley appeared, her cheeks flushed and still in the sparkly blue dress she wore at the end of the play.

"You were amazing up there!" Danny told her once she reached where their group waited.

"You think so?" Hayley blushed, brushing back her hair as she bowed her head slightly.

"Of course!"

"You have a beautiful singing voice," Kwan added.

"See?" Celeste smiled, slipping her hand into Hayley's hand and lacing their fingers together. "I told you you'd be great."

"I was nervous the whole time." Hayley fanned herself. There was a light sheen of sweet across her brow, and Danny could only imagine how hot it was being under all those stage lights for the duration of the play. Hayley laughed. "I still have some butterflies."

"It didn't show at all," Dash said. "When you first stepped out onto the stage, I completely believed you were a mermaid. The costume designers did a really good job."

Danny wondered if Dash was thinking back to Mirabelle, which did give him a tiny twinge of jealousy. Mirabelle was a lovely mermaid and wasn't remotely embarrassed to be seen in the nude. It wouldn't surprise Danny if Dash had a physical response to that first meeting. Bringing his mind back to the play, Danny thought the sets were also well done. They were able to achieve a real under the sea feel on stage.

"I was impressed! They had such a low budge for doing sets and costumes too," Hayley confessed. "I'm so glad you could all come. I wish I could say I saw you in the audience, but the lights were so blinding."

"We thought we could go out for a celebratory dinner," Celeste said. "But if you have a cast party-"

Hayley shook her head. "I think I can get out of that. Some of the other members mentioned having family and friends they wanted to celebrate with after the play. Though maybe I should at least make an appearance." She bit her lower lip in uncertainty.

"You could make a spot appearance," Kwan suggested, "and we could get a table at a restaurant. You can meet us there when you're done at the party."

"That sounds like an excellent idea. You can text us the restaurant when you get there."

"Great. A plan." Mary smiled. "If you don't mind, I think I'll skip the cast party and go with the guys."

Hayley smiled with a small shake of her head. "That's fine. We'll meet you there." She and Celeste waved as they walked away.

Mary turned to them, her eyes narrowing as she looked each one of them over in turn. "Is there any big news the three of you have been keeping from me?"

Danny shared a glance with Dash and Kwan. They probably looked as guilty as three kids who snuck cookies before dinner.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt anything to tell her," Dash said, his voice low, but Danny suspected Mary still heard him. "She's a friend as much as she is a co-worker. I doubt she'd go blabbing it around school."

Kwan appeared a little hesitant. "I suppose it would be okay to tell her."

Danny nodded. "I'm okay with it."

Dash turned back to Mary, but the smile he wore looked slightly forced, the kind of smile he used when he was worried but wanted to appear positive. "We," he gestured to Kwan and Danny, "are a couple." He winced, perhaps waiting for Mary to yell.

An eyebrow arched toward her hairline as Mary stared at the three of them. "How exactly does that work?"

"Ah, well," Dash rubbed his neck, "we're still kind of work it all out. So far, it doesn't feel like much has changed."

"Except for kissing and cuddling," Kwan piped in with a grin.

"Yeah," Dash's smile turned dopey as he looked at his friend, "those are nice." Then he snapped his gaze to Mary. "Wait. You're not freaking out about this?"

"I knew something was up. Ever since we got from winter break, there's been this," Mary shrugged, seeking a word that eluded her for a moment, "vibe, I guess, with the three of you. I'd catch these little looks, but I wasn't entirely sure if it meant what I thought it did. Did you honestly think I would be disgusted by your relationship? I'm happy the three of you found people to be in a loving relationship with. Rather than freaked out, I'm more curious about the inner workings of this kind of relationship. Sorry." She held up her hands. "It's my first time knowing anyone in a polyamory relationship."

"It's a first for us too." Danny chuckled. "And I thought we were keeping things quiet at school." He winced. "I guess we still need to work on that if we're going to keep the whole school from finding out."

"It can be hard." Mary nodded, folding her arms. "When a relationship is new, it can be difficult not to just stare at the person every time they're nearby. And I suppose we should get going. Did you have a restaurant in mind?"

"Any place you prefer?" Dash asked, leading the way to the theater's exit.

"Can we keep this between us?" Danny questioned. "Not like we're trying to keep this a secret from Hayley and Celeste. I'm sure they'll be happy for us. But I feel like tonight we shouldn't take away from Hayley's big moment. We can tell them another night."

"Okay." Mary nodded in understanding. "But we definitely have to celebrate this when you tell them."

Danny agreed with a smile. "Definitely. Tonight, though. Tonight we celebrate Hayley."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After everything that happened, Dash still needed to do one last thing.

Dash breathed out in relief when he was finally free the leave the courtroom. He would prefer it if he never had to step foot in another courtroom ever again, but this was a case he wanted to see through to the end. Kwan and Danny offered to come with him, even though neither of them were requested to appear in court. Dash, for whatever reason, felt like this was something he needed to do by himself. His father never got the punishment he deserved for all the abuse he dished out, but there was a certain satisfaction in watching Bryce pay for his crimes.

Now, he looked forward to going home to relax with his boyfriends. He turned to walk down the hall toward the front entrance of the courthouse, but his path was blocked by a young man.

"Sorry." He shifted his weight, his gaze not quite meeting with Dash's. "You probably don't remember me."

Dash was ready to agree with the man, but after a moment, the memory made him snap his fingers. "You were there that night. You told us Sawyer's name."

"Right." He bowed his head with a slight smile. "So you did remember. Uh, James." He held out his hand. "I don't think we got properly introduced that night."

"Dash." He shook the man's hand. "Looks like your nose healed up right."

"Yeah." James rubbed at his nose. "So, I guess I was a bit rude to you that night. When you showed up looking for Sawyer, I wasn't completely convinced that you would find her. You seemed genuine about wanting to find her, but that didn't mean you would." He frowned, his gaze lowered. "Then we got the news about what happened to Sawyer. I didn't know her all that well, but I still felt like I had to come here and see her killer with my own eyes. I shouldn't be surprised that it was Bryce. Then I saw you, and I realized you had to have been the one to figure out what happened to her."

"It wasn't just me."

"Right. You were there with another guy. I want thank you, and him, for finding Sawyer and bringing her killer to justice."

"We didn't do it for thanks."

"Maybe not. But there will still be people who want to thank you."

A smirk curled the corner of Dash's mouth. "Smart boy."

"I did say I was going to Harvard, didn't I?" James smiled. "Well, I should probably be on my way. I promised to meet up with my girlfriend when this was over."

"You best not keep her waiting then." Dash grinned, thinking about getting back to his own romantic partners. "And keep up the good studying!"

"Of course." James waved before he walked off to the courthouse entrance.

Dash was ready to do the same, after giving James a few minutes to leave first.

"Um."

Dash stopped before he could take a step, nearly groaning out loud. Would he ever get to leave the courthouse and go back home? But he recognized the voice. Turning around, he put on a friendly smile. "Paige, what can I do for you?"

"Oh, I don't want to take up too much of your time." Paige chewed on her lip as she brushed back a lock of her hair. Since he last saw her, Paige had cut her hair. It was now chin length, and it was amazing how a simple thing could change someone's entire appearance. "I just wanted to say I was glad to see you today. When I had to take the stand, I was really nervous. I thought I would get all tongue tied and be unable to answer any of the questions, especially with Bryce there, glaring bloody murder at me. But then I saw you sitting there, and I remembered how you treated me at the park, and it was like I got this boost of confidence." She smiled brightly.

"Then I'm very glad I came." Dash's smile turned warm as he placed a hand on Paige's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "How have you been holding up?"

Her mood turned a little less sunny. "Better. I think." Paige frowned. "My parents want me to go to therapy. It's not my first choice of things, but," she shrugged, "Ms. Barnes is helping me identify signs of Bryce's manipulation and abuse. And," she hesitated, "I was thinking of starting up a group at my school. Mostly for other girls that have had similar experiences, but it would be open to others too. When you're in it, you can't always see the signs. A friend might be able to spot things better."

"That's good!" Dash smiled encouragingly. "And really brave of you."

"Thanks." Paige blushed lightly. "But I still feel guilty." She lowered her gaze, rubbing at her arm. "Sawyer lost her life just because she bumped into me, and I get to walk free like I have no part in her death."

"Hey," Dash placed both hands on her shoulders, "it wasn't your fault. But I know saying that won't make you feel any less guilty." He looked up and glanced around the hall. Two women stood a few feet down the hall from them, one of them folded into the other's embrace. He recognized them from the courtroom. "But maybe talking to Sawyer's parents will help ease some of that guilt you feel."

"I - I don't know." Paige glanced toward them, understandably hesitant about speaking to the two women.

"Later on, you're probably going to want to talk to them. Don't wait. Don't let the guilt eat you up. Talk to them now."

Paige twisted the hem of her shirt. "Will you go with me? Sorry." She bowed her head. "That's asking too much."

Dash shook his head with a kind smile. "If it'll help." Walking a step behind her, Dash followed Paige over to where Sawyer's parents stood, still grieving the loss of their daughter. He thought this talk would do a lot of good for all three of the women.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kwan's end of the day wrap up gets a few interruptions.

Kwan rubbed at his eyes as he worked on a few things after his last class of the day ended. Dash and Danny probably had their own after school wrap ups to get done, so Kwan wasn't too worried about taking his time on the few things he wanted to get done before heading home. As he went over a few more papers, jotting down some notes for tomorrow's lessons, a soft knock drew his attention away from his work. He lifted his head, glancing over to the doorway where one of his students stood.

"Do you need something, Kelsey?" Kwan laid his pen down on the desk to give her his full attention.

Kelsey entered his office and took a seat in the chair before Kwan's desk. "Um, well, see, I'm looking at what college I might want to go to. Because my dad was thinking of visiting a few over the summer. And," she frowned, lowering her gaze as she pushed back her sleek ebony hair, "I already know which college my dad will want to push me to attend. I was kind of hoping to get your opinion on what you think would be the best school. And," she bit her lip, "maybe help with the essay part of the application?"

"Of course. Though I feel like Da- Mr. Fenton would be more appropriate for going over the essay."

"I thought about doing that. But I wanted your opinion too." Kelsey smiled, biting her lower lip. "For all the computer and science-y bits."

Kwan nodded. "Then I'll be happy to give it a look." He accepted the folder with her essay when she handed it to him. "Do you need it back right away?" If she wanted Danny to give the essay a look too, Kwan could easily pass it onto Danny once he finished his review of it.

Kelsey shook her head. "You don't have to read it right this second, though I would like it back before the end of the week. Still a lot to do to get those college applications ready."

Kwan set the folder to the side for the moment. "Now about college choices. Parents want the best for their children." _Mostly_. "So I'm sure that's why your father is pushing you for his choice of colleges. And some students will go along with that choice because they don't want to disappoint their parents. But remember, you know what's best for you. If that college isn't one that feels like the best choice, you don't have to apply to it just because of your father. This is about you, not him."

Kelsey bobbed her head, his expression serious. "I know. I mean," she shifted in her seat, "I know it would mean a lot to him if I chose to go to the same college he did, but it doesn't really have what I'm looking for. I want to do computer programming. My dad thinks that's just a little hobby of mine. I'm good at it, and I love it. But the college he wants me to look at doesn't really have a decent programming program. And I know there are a few colleges with really good programs. I just," she shrugged with uncertainty in her brown eyes, "don't know which one might be the best for me."

"I can tell which college I liked, but keep in mind that's just my opinion. You'll probably get a better feel of which college could be the one for you after you visit some of them."

Someone knocked at the doorframe, and both of them turn their gaze. Kwan smiled when he saw Dash.

"Am I interrupting? I just have a little something to discuss with you."

"One moment," Kwan told Kelsey, lifting one finger to her before he stood. He walked around his desk then met Dash at the door. "What is it?"

"It wasn't anything super important." Dash scratched at his cheek, his gaze lowering slightly. "Danny said he would be staying to give one of his kids a little extra swim practice, so he'll be late tonight. So we'll be on our own for dinner tonight."

Kwan nodded. It was to be expected that some nights one or more of them might get held back with work. "Maybe I'll make that stuff you like." He grinned. "Danny didn't seem to like it."

Dash snorted, but the corner of his mouth threatened to curl into a smirk. "I guess spicy isn't his thing. I should let you get back to your student."

Before Dash could turn to leave, Kwan caught his arm and pulled him a step closer. "Um," he flushed darkly, lowering his voice even more, "Valentine's day is coming up. Next Monday, actually. I thought we could do something that night. I don't know if you or Danny had any plans in mind though."

Dash slapped a hand over his eyes with his head tilted slightly backwards. "I can't believe I forgot about that."

Kwan chuckled. "It's okay. We still have the weekend to talk about any plans. And I don't think it has to be anything overly romantic."

"Well, it's nice feeling a little less pressured for Valentine's day." Dash sighed, some tension melting out of him. His gaze darted behind Kwan. "But I really shouldn't be distracting you when you have a student. We can discuss Valentine's day plans when we all get home."

"Right. We should stop buy the store on the way home to pick up some of the ingredients for dinner."

"I'll be in the teacher's lounge when you're ready."

Kwan very nearly leaned in to kiss Dash before catching himself. "I shouldn't be too long." He smiled, giving Dash's arm a little squeeze before he walked back over to his desk. When Kwan glanced back to the doorway, Dash was already gone. "Sorry about that." He sat down again. "Where were we?"

Kelsey tore her gaze away from her phone, which she furiously typed away on just a second ago. "You and Mr. Baxter are pretty good friends, huh?" She glanced toward the door.

"Well, we've been best friends since before high school." Kwan shrugged.

Kelsey's eyes narrowed, giving him a critical once over. "Do you often share clothes? I'm pretty sure Mr. Baxter was wearing a shirt you wore last week. And, if I'm not mistaken, the shirt you're wearing was worn by Mr. Fenton on Monday." Her eyebrow lifted, and Kwan suddenly felt like he was under a microscope.

"Ah," Kwan laughed, a bit too forcibly, "the three of us are friends." He didn't even realize he was wearing the wrong shirt. That morning, he grabbed blindly from the closet, which was turning into more of a mix of all their clothes rather than being solely his closet. Only now that Kelsey mentioned it, he realized the shirt fit a little too snugly. "I guess sometimes we just mix up our clothes."

Kelsey stared him down with an expression that clearly said, "I don't believe one word you just said." Kwan had to admit it sounded pretty lame to his own ears.

"Perhaps we should put a little more focus on your college choices instead of focusing on my clothes." Kwan hoped to get back on topic, not liking that look in Kelsey's eyes. She was a smart young woman, but Kwan now feared she might be a little too observant about certain details, namely those involving his relationship with Dash and Danny.

"Right. Of course." Kelsey nodded, though it felt like the gears were churning away in her head. What ideas were spinning through her mind right now? With a smile, she launched into talking about the colleges she was considering. Kwan relaxed as they discussed the colleges, but something still nagged at him about that whole conversation.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is Valentine's day, and Danny hopes for a nice, stress free school day.

Danny walked into his next class. The students were already in their seats, though they were too busy chatting to notice his entrance. Danny wasn't too surprised. It was Valentine's day, and the students were excitedly talking to their friends about what gifts they received from whomever they were dating, or the occasional secret admirer. Knowing classes were likely to be interrupted by the random candy grams the school liked to do for the holiday, he planned for a light lesson that was more fun facts about literature than an actual lesson that would show up on tests later.

Danny moved to place his things on his desk but paused when he noticed something sitting in the middle of his desk. With a slight wrinkle in his brow, he switched to place his things on his chair. The object on his desk was a heart shaped box with a ribbon on top. A red envelop stuck out from under it. He picked up the envelope and took out the slip of paper inside it.

_Couldn't stop thinking of you. Looking forward to our plans tonight. - Dash_.

The crease remained in his brow, but the words brought a flush to his cheeks. They had already agreed to act professionally while at school so no one would catch onto their relationship, besides Mary Burke who already figured out they were in a relationship. But Danny couldn't help smiling at the little Valentine's day gift Dash left him.

"What's that, Mr. Fenton?" asked one of his students from the back of the room.

Danny lifted his head to realize the whole class was now looking at him.

"Did you get something from a secret admirer?"

"Let's get to today's lesson." Danny stuffed the note back into the envelop.

"Oh, your face is red!"

"Who's it from?"

"Someone he loooooves, obviously."

Their comments weren't helping to make Danny's blush go away.

"So, today's lesson," Danny said, turning to write on the board.

"Aw, come on, Mr. Fenton! We're not going to be able to concentrate on anything else."

"I could easily turn this into a test day," Danny pointed out, which earned him a few gasps.

"Mr. Fenton!"

Danny closed his eyes, counting to ten as he breathed out slowly. "If it's about who sent me something, I'm going to hand out test papers."

"No, not that. You never brought in your high school yearbook."

"Yeah!" agreed several other students. "We wanted to see your high school pictures."

Danny nearly banged his forehead on the board. He was starting to wish the day was already over so he didn't have to deal with anymore of these questions. When there was a knock on the door, Danny almost thanked Clockwork for the save. He walked over to the classroom door and opened it to be greeted with some candy grams ready to be delivered to students. A hand grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the classroom as the students passing out the candy grams entered.

"D-Dash!" Danny blinked in surprise. "And Kwan? What's going on?"

"I thought we weren't doing any Valentine's stuff until we got home," Dash said, frowning.

"I mean, I appreciate it, but my class wouldn't stop pestering me about who sent me chocolates," Kwan added.

"Wait." Danny held up his hands. "What are you talking about? I didn't send chocolates. And why am I being singled out? I just got chocolates from Dash!"

"Hey, I know I like romantic stuff, but I'm not going to be dumb and send something during school hours," Dash argued.

"Hold on!" Kwan put himself between Dash and Danny, his hands held out like he was going to hold them back from starting a fight. "We all got chocolates, and none of us sent them." He sighed when Dash and Danny simply blinked at him. "Obviously someone sent them to us. But who and why?"

"Secret admirers is out." Dash sighed as he rubbed his neck. "But why sign the notes from us?"

Danny's eyes widened as his stomach felt like it was about to drop right out of him. "Uh, this isn't something that Mary would do, right?"

"Doubt it." Dash shook his head. "We asked her to keep this secret. She's not going to break that promise."

"Then someone else knows," Danny said, and he could see his comment didn't sit well with his boyfriends.

"But we've been careful!" Dash protested.

"I can't hear them!"

The three men twisted around to see a few students poking the heads through the doorway. The students panicked when their teachers spotted them, shoving their way back into the classroom. Danny glanced back to his boyfriends, who seemed to have the same idea going through their heads. He returned to his classroom with Dash and Kwan following him. Danny stood in front of the class, folding his arms as he stared sternly at his suddenly quiet students.

"Is there something going on?" Danny asked with his best disapproving face. Several students shook their heads. The students handing out candy grams stood at the back of the classroom, trying but failing to appear innocent. It seemed the whole class was in on whatever was happening. "So no one wants to confess to putting this," he turned and picked up the box of chocolates then held it up for the class to see, "on my desk?"

Guilty looks passed around the class.

"No one's going to be in trouble," Kwan said, his voice sounding calm and quiet in a way that almost encouraged people to tell him things. "We're not asking to punish the culprit. But we want to know who delivered these boxes of chocolates and why."

"I told you this was a bad idea," one of the boys in the back whispered, a little too loudly.

"Hey, you were the one who said we should get a bigger box," snapped back the girl sitting next to him.

Dash pinched at his nose. "The whole class was in on this?"

"Um," a girl at the front of the class half raised her hand, her brown skin darkening with a blush, "actually, it's more like the whole student body."

"What?" the three teachers shouted, all of their eyes widening. Danny's mind was spinning. All the students plotted to buy them chocolates and address them from each other.

"It was Kelsey's idea," someone explained. "She thought if we sent chocolates to each of you from the other two, then we could gauge your responses."

"And what was this supposed to accomplish?" Dash asked, sounding like he was five seconds away from wanting to go home and spend the rest of the day in bed.

After a round of silent glances, someone, almost too quietly, answered, "To see who was dating who."

Danny looked to Dash and Kwan. "I thought we were being careful," he whispered, but his boyfriends seemed just as confused about all their students having some idea of their relationship.

"I mean, well, we kind of always thought there was a thing going on with Mr. Baxter and Mr. Long," said one of the students assigned to hand out candy grams. "But then when you arrived, Mr. Fenton, it was like this love triangle started. No one could decide who was actually dating who."

"Every time we thought we figured it out, it seemed like someone would see something to disprove it."

"Please tell us! I can't graduate without knowing what the answer is!"

"This is not what I was expecting." Dash rubbed at his forehead.

"I actually thought we were going to be able to keep this secret." Kwan frowned in disappointment.

"Don't leave us hanging!" pleaded the students.

Danny sighed. "They really aren't going to let up on this. They can be very stubborn."

Dash shrugged. "At this point, is there really any harm in telling them? We only agreed to keep it secret because we were worried about what the parents would say. If they've been debating this since Danny arrived, then it doesn't seem like they've been mentioning anything around their parents, since there hasn't been any calls to the school." Despite the logical argument, Dash's voice held a hint of doubt, like he was waiting for his boyfriends to dispute his comment.

"I'm surprised they're this interested in our personal lives," Kwan admitted.

Danny agreed. He certainly never would have thought about whom Lancer was dating back in high school. But their students seemed too engrossed in their romantic lives to be satisfied with anything other than the truth. He doubted they could tell the students that nothing was happening among the three of them and be believed.

"Well," Danny said, leaning back on his desk, "the answer is we're all dating each other."

Students whistled and catcalled, and Danny winced, hoping other classes weren't being interrupted. Then one student stood up with a shout of, "Wait! That was an option?"

Another asked, "How does that even work? Do you, like, alternate your dates or something?"

"It's not like we're three separate couples. We're one single couple. We go on dates and do romantic stuff like any other couple would. It's just that there are three of us in this couple rather than two. It's called polyamory," Danny explained, but he could see many of his students were confused. "It's a little unconventional, especially when society tends to think anything different from the norm is considered bad. But the three of us love each other, and this kind of relationship has been working out pretty well for us."

A girl up front raised her hand. "Don't you ever get jealous of the others?"

"We try to be honest about our feelings," Kwan answered. "If one of us if feeling angry or uncomfortable or anything else, we tell each other so we can work out how to fix whatever's wrong. Sometimes that means just stepping back and letting the other have some space to work out their issues on their own. Communication is a big key in keeping any relationship a healthy one."

Dash tapped on Kwan's shoulder. "We do need to get back to our classes."

"Oh, right." Kwan looked embarrassed. "Sorry for interrupting."

"Aw! Can't you stay a little longer?" begged some students.

"Sorry. You'll just have to pester Danny with any other questions." Dash grinned before he and Kwan left the classroom.

"I guess we're not getting to the lesson today." Danny sighed as hands shot into the air, each student wanting to ask him more questions about his relationship with Dash and Kwan. He chose a student at random, deciding to let the rest of the class be a question and answer session about polyamory relationships. Maybe he wasn't an expert, but he could answer as best he could based on his own experiences. If it was helpful to even one student, he would consider it worth having his relationship with Dash and Kwan discovered by his students.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With school finally over for the day, Dash is happy to get back to their apartment.

Dash sighed tiredly as he followed Kwan and Danny into their apartment. "I didn't realize school could feel so long. How are our students so interested in our love lives?"

Danny shrugged. "I guess one student could have joked about it at some point. About you and Kwan, since they apparently were already assuming you two were a thing. And then things just kind of went from there." He tugged off his coat then hung it up in the closet. "I mean, there were always rumors about people dating flying around when we were students. We just never really thought about our teachers that way."

"Well, this isn't exactly how I would have liked it to come up, but I am kind of glad it gave me the chance to discuss some stuff not approved in the school's health curriculum. Three people being in love with each other, how scandalous!" He mocked gasped and pretended to look horrified by the concept. So he didn't really know anything about polyamorous relationships until just after Christmas, but he thought that just proved the point that they should be teaching more than just heterosexual sex ed, which was already fairly limited in what the school board said he could teach.

"At least it had some relevance to your class." Kwan frowned as he headed for the kitchen. "I can't even pretend talking about our relationship in class had anything to do with computer science. Not that I had any serious lesson planned for today anyway." He pulled out a pan and set it on the stove.

"It makes me glad we decided not to do some big thing for Valentine's though," Danny said, opening the refrigerator to get out some of the ingredients they needed for their dinner. "After all those questions, I'm too exhausted to think about being overly romantic."

"You are not alone," Kwan said as they started working on dinner.

Dash felt a little heat under the collar. It wasn't anything "overly romantic," but now he was feeling a little embarrassed. "One sec." He disappeared into his room and got the two boxes wrapped in white that he hid in his desk drawer over the weekend.

He took a deep breath as he stood before his door. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? He celebrated Valentine's day before. _With women_ , his brain reminded him. That seemed like a silly excuse. His experience so far, beyond having two boyfriends instead of one, didn't feel that much different. They went on dates. They had deep conversations as well as silly conversations. They had moments when they just sat quietly enjoying each other company. They shared a bed. They kissed and more. Things were, obviously, a bit different in the bedroom than what he was used to, but he was gradually growing more comfortable with it. That was probably an over simplification of the matter, but sometimes, it was just easier to think in simple terms. After steeling himself, he left his room and headed back over to the kitchen where Kwan and Danny were still prepping for dinner.

"It's not much, but," Dash ducked his head, his cheeks reddening, "happy Valentine's day." He held out the white boxes to both of them.

"Always the romantic," Kwan said, his voice light and teasing as he took the box.

"How did you even find chocolate shaped like snowflakes?" Danny asked after opening his box and pulling out one of the chocolates.

"Well," Dash rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck, "it was kind of Izzy's suggestion. I called her while I was trying to pick something out over the weekend, and she told me I could just make some chocolate in whatever shape I wanted."

Danny's eyes widened as he held the chocolate between his lips. "You _made_ them?"

"When did you even have time?" Kwan stared at his box of chocolates with a new light of awe in his eyes.

"It wasn't that hard after Izzy sent me some stuff she found about how to do it. You two went on that run Sunday, so while you were out, I worked on them." Dash couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed by their reactions. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about the whole leaving them as gifts for you during the day, but I knew that would just have to be a little daydream of mine."

"We appreciate the thought." Kwan pulled Dash a step closer so he could kiss his boyfriend on the cheek.

"Maybe after dinner we can show you our appreciation," Danny suggested with a wry smirk that made heat rise to Dash's cheeks.

"Ugh, if you're going to get mushy, I'm out of here."

Dash jumped at the voice. Kwan jerked back a step. Danny shot an annoyed glance off to the side.

"I told you to come _after_ we finished making dinner," Danny said, almost sighing.

"I got bored." Next to Danny, the outline of a woman's figure appeared, slowly growing more defined. "Hi," the ghost greeted, leaning an arm on Danny's shoulder as she waved with her other hand.

"Ember!" Kwan gasped.

"I always like meeting fans." Ember grinned at Danny, who looked like he was resisting a groan or a smack to his forehead.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Danny explained. "I knew you both liked her in high school." He glanced sideways at Ember. "So I thought it would be nice to have her show up and sing a little while we enjoyed dinner." His cheeks were growing slightly pink. "Though now it sounds a little silly out loud."

"Such a little romantic!" Ember pinched Danny's cheek.

"I can't believe Ember is standing in my kitchen right now," Dash whispered, and his eyes must have been the size of saucers. At least, that was how they felt to him.

"My brain might have short circuited," Kwan mumbled.

"This is why you were supposed to wait." Danny elbowed Ember in the side.

"You didn't say they were such big fans." Ember shrugged.

"Okay, okay!" Danny waved his hands. "Let's get dinner cooked first. Then you two can geek out about Ember." He glanced back to the singer. "You aren't missing out on anything yourself by being here, are you?"

Ember snorted. "You really think Skulker is the type to be romantic? Besides, he's still angry I spooked you on Halloween and he failed." She grinned smugly.

"You were here on Halloween?" Dash's brow creased as they got back to preparing dinner.

"Who's Skulker?" Kwan questioned, lighting one of the stove's burners.

"Yes," Ember answered, leaning on the counter while she watched them, "for a brief moment early in the morning. Normally, we all leave Danny alone on Halloween if he's going to be around humans all day, but I knew Skulker would try anyway so I wanted to beat him to it. Skulker's my husband. Sounds strange with the way we act sometimes, but we do love each other."

"I - Wow!" Kwan shook his head. "I never even thought - Wait. Ghosts can be married?"

"Of course!" Ember huffed like the question offended her. She considered something for a minute. "I don't think any ghosts that have gotten married have ever broken up." She shrugged like that fact wasn't all that important.

Dash gave Danny a light nudge to the ribs with his elbow. "I think you're going to get a show of appreciation tonight too," he whispered, a smirk slipping onto his face as Danny bowed his head, cheeks burning red.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kwan meets someone unexpectedly at the grocery store.

Kwan browsed the shelves as he walked through the snacks aisle of the grocery store. After Valentine's day, he couldn't help feeling tense on the way to school the next day. Would the students still be talking about them? Would they suffer a never ending slew of questions from their students during classes? Would their fellow teachers catch on? Or worse, would the principal or vice principal learn of their relationship? Would any of the parents hear about it from their teenagers? So many questions flew through his head that morning, he nearly walked right into the doorframe on his way into his first class.

Surprisingly, all was quiet. His students weren't interrupting class to ask him about his personal life. No one came in to tell him the principal asked to see him. He was impressed, and perhaps a little concerned, by how well the students could keep the secret, at least among themselves. The whole student body might know of their relationship, but they never let it slip out to any of the other teachers. After a few quiet days passed, Kwan managed to breathe out in relief and relax. As long as they continued to act professionally at school, it seemed they would be all right.

"Kwan?"

He tore his gaze away from deciding whether he should get the cool ranch Doritos or the spicy nacho to see who spoke. "Will?" he replied, his eyes widening. "Isn't this a little out of the way for you?"

"A bit, yeah." Will ducked his head with an embarrassed smile. He closed the distance between them. "Noah has a bit of a cold and has been crying practically day and night." He sighed, his exhaustion clear on his face and in the dark bags under his eyes.

"Oh wow," Kwan winced, imagining having to deal with a sick baby, "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope he gets better soon."

"Me too. Especially since Mirabelle's mom decided to stay with us until Noah gets better." Will's eyes lost a little glimmer of life. "She thinks literally everything I do is wrong."

"Yikes! Is that why you decided to come all the one out here?"

"I thought a nice long, _long_ walk to pick up a few things would keep me from going insane around her," Will answered. "I can only hope by some miracle she'll be gone when I get home. She's not a completely terrible woman, but she can be trying sometimes."

Kwan patted him on the shoulder with a sympathetic look. He supposed he was lucky that Danny and Dash's family seemed to like him pretty well. He couldn't imagine either of his boyfriends' mothers visiting them and telling him he was doing everything wrong. He dreaded to think how _his_ mother would treat Dash and Danny if she knew of their relationship. He was the only one that hadn't told his immediate family. He felt a little guilty about it, but Dash, at least, understood why he wasn't leaping at the opportunity to tell them. Danny was still in the dark about Kwan's family, but it would need to come up eventually. His cousins practically wanted to drag him out and get him drunk in celebration when he told them about his relationship with Dash and Danny.

"So," a smirk curled onto Will's face, "how was your Valentine's day?"

"Um," Kwan felt his cheeks growing warmer.

"Oh! You're turning red." A mischievous gleam entered Will's eyes. "Who did you spend it with?"

"Um," Kwan glanced away, "Danny never said anything to you?"

Will's smile probably grew about eight times bigger. "Did he finally ask you out? I wasn't sure if he was going to end up with you or the blond guy."

"Dash. His name is Dash." Kwan's eyes narrowed just slightly, silently warning Will not to say anything bad about his friend. "And Danny actually got both of us."

"That's great!" Will clapped a hand to Kwan's back. "I was hoping Danny would find someone he could be happy with for the rest of his life. He's a good guy and deserves it. I'm glad he has the two of you. Mirabelle will be so happy to hear this too. She'll probably want to have the three of you come over again to celebrate." He chuckled. "She really liked you after meeting you."

"I liked her too. And Noah is adorable." Kwan rubbed at his ear. "Though I guess not so much when he's sick and crying."

"I love the little guy, but I would also really love for him to sleep through the night so I can get some sleep too." Will rubbed at his face.

"Stay strong! I'm sure Noah won't be sick too much longer."

"I certainly hope so. The doctor said he should be fine in a couple of days. I hate seeing my little boy suffering like this, but it would be a lot easier to deal with if my mother-in-law would just leave."

"Hm," Kwan gave it some thought, "I don't know that I can help with the mother-in-law thing. All I can think of is just try not to let her get to you too much. The last thing you want is start any unnecessary fighting with your in-laws."

"So pick my battles and let her aggravating judgmental comments slide?" Will's mouth pursed to the side as he thought about it. "You do have a point. I don't want to upset Mirabelle by fighting with her mother."

Kwan nodded. "Though if you want to delay going back home to deal with your mother-in-law, you're welcomed to help me finish up my shopping."

"I have been away for quite a while now." Will stroke his chin thoughtfully. "But I'm sure Mirabelle will understand when I tell her I bumped into you."

With his decision made, Will walked through the store aisles with Kwan, who picked items from his list off the shelves as they passed them. They moved away from the topic of mothers-in-law and moved onto other topics, like stories of working at a high school. Kwan could see why Danny liked him. Other than being attractive, Will was friendly, easy to talk to, smart, funny, and Kwan might have felt worried about Danny keeping a friendship with Will, but it was pretty clear the two men no longer had romantic feelings toward each other. And Will had some funny stories about Danny, who probably would have found them utterly embarrassing, but Kwan was more than happy to hear them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was just another night of patrolling. Everything was quiet, or at least, he thought it was quiet.

"I'm not seeing much out of the ordinary," Dash said followed by a slurping sound.

"Did you stop for food?" Kwan asked in a disapproving tone.

"I got a little thirsty. That's all!"

"I guess we should call it a night." Danny held back a yawn, keeping an eye on his surroundings. "It doesn't seem like anything's going on tonight." He liked the quiet nights, much more relaxing than his early high school days of battling some new ghost every week. But he couldn't help feeling a little itchy when it was quiet for too long.

"Danny," worry tinged Kwan's voice, "what are you doing out in the woods?"

"Oh, uh, it was pretty quiet in town." Danny winced. "So I thought I should explore around the forest a bit."

After they finished work on the ghost shield, and set it up on the roof of the school, he and Kwan poked around at other ideas that might be handy. Their communication devices, hooks around their ears, went pretty much unnoticed while in a crowd. Mostly they let them stay in contact without having to keep calling each other on their cell phones. They also had trackers placed in them so Kwan, who stayed back at the apartment most of the time, could keep tabs on their whereabouts should anything happen where one of them couldn't communicate anymore. Dash now had a pair of glasses that helped him see ghosts that were invisible. They weren't perfect, but Dash could at least pick up a blurry image, which was enough to clue him in on a ghost's location.

"Is everything okay out there?" Dash asked.

"All quiet," Danny assured them. "Let's meet up back at the apartment. We don't want to fall asleep during our get together tomorrow."

"Are you sure this is really a good idea?" Dash was clearly frowning with uncertainty.

"Will promised they wouldn't mention anything about being merfolk or anything about the supernatural world. And it'll just be a little brunch at our place. I don't think there's anything to worry about."

"We have been putting off telling Celeste and Hayley," Kwan reminded. "It's about time we finally told them."

Danny agreed. He hadn't meant to keep it secret for so long from them. They decided it was best to tell Hayley and Celeste in person, but they were all busy and their schedules didn't always line up for them to meet. "We can talk more about it back at the apartment. I'm going to start heading back now."

"Yeah," Dash paused to yawn, "I'm on my way back now too."

Danny turned to head back into town when a sound caught his ear. He stood still and listened carefully. The forest was quiet, only the rustle of leaves on the cool night breeze, until he located the sound. His mouth curved downward as he shifted to ghost form and made himself intangible. He followed the sound, his eyes flicking around the forest for any signs of trouble. Cautiously, he peered around a tree and found a young boy sobbing into his knees drawn up to his chest. After he gave the area another glance, he moved around the tree, trying not to startle the boy. It seemed like they were alone. He crouched down in front of the boy.

"Hey," Danny said in a soft voice.

The boy jerked his head up with a squeak, pressing his back into the tree. Two furry ears popped out of his dark hair. "W-Who are you?" His brown eyes widened, and his chest rose and fell in short panicked breaths.

"It's okay." Danny smiled gently, holding up his hands. "I'm just here to help. Why are you out here by yourself? Where are your parents? It's not safe to roam the forest alone at night."

"I," the boy sniffed, "know. But," his eyes were watery, "I wanted to prove I was a big boy!" He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I sneaked out after Mom put us to sleep. But-" His words got lost as he cried.

"Shh, it's going to be okay." Danny placed a hand on the boy's arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I'll take you back home. Okay?"

The boy bobbed his head.

"Okay." Danny smiled. "Can you stand? Or do you want me to carry you?"

The boy shook his head. "I can walk."

"Of course." Danny nodded. "I apologize. I forgot you're a big boy." He stood up, and after wiping his eyes again, the boy did too. "Hm, I guess we should probably introduce ourselves." He winced, realizing he should have done that sooner. "I'm Danny."

"I'm," the boy said in a small voice, "Bentley."

"Well, Bentley, you're going to have to be the leader." Danny leaned down and cupped a hand over his mouth like he was about to share a secret. "And you should remember to keep your ears hidden."

Bentley gasped, clapping his hands over his ears. Panic flashed through his eyes.

"Don't worry." Danny winked. "You're not the only one with a secret." He held up a hand and slowly made it disappear.

Bentley's eyes widened in awe. "How'd you do that?"

"I'm a ghost." Danny grinned until he realized that might not be the best thing to say in this situation. He didn't want to scare Bentley, after all. "The friendly kind."

Bentley looked him over then frowned. "I thought ghosts would be scarier."

Danny winced. "Some can be. Anyway, we should start heading back to your family."

Bentley nodded. After a moment's hesitation, he grabbed hold of Danny's hand then started walking. He tried to hold his head up, but he chewed on his lip and jumped at any noise they heard in the forest. He couldn't be much older than seven or eight, still too young as a werewolf to fully control his transformations.

"Danny, why are you heading in the opposite direction of our apartment?" Kwan asked, concern seeping into his voice.

"Oh, something came up. Just making sure this boy gets home safely," Danny explained.

"Who are you talking to?" Bentley stared up at him. "Is that a ghost thing?"

"What's a boy doing in the middle of the woods at a time like this?" Kwan questioned.

"No," Danny leaned down and tapped at his ear to draw Bentley's attention to the communication device there, "my friends and I use this to keep in touch." Then he stood up straight again before replying to Kwan. "It's nothing to worry about. I'll tell you everything when I get home."

"Are they ghosts too?" Bentley asked.

Danny shook his head. "They're humans."

Bentley lowered his gaze, frowning at the ground. "But humans are mean."

"Why do you think that?"

Bentley tightened his hold on Danny's hand but wouldn't lifted his gaze. "The man before was scary."

Danny stopped walking. "Wait. What man?"

"The man before," Bentley repeated. "I couldn't see his face though because he was wearing a mask. He tried to grab me, but I bit his hand and ran away."

"Why didn't you-" Danny sighed, pinching his nose. He didn't even think to ask about the possibility of anyone else being in the forest. He thought Bentley merely wandered too far into the forest and got too scared to make his way home alone. But a masked man trying to snatch up Bentley in the forest at night? Danny didn't like the sound of that. "We should probably hurry back to your house then."

Danny pulled the boy with him as he picked up the pace. It was a faint noise. He nearly missed it. But the slight rustle of leaves was enough of a warning for Danny to jerk to a stop and yank Bentley behind him. The masked man dropped down in front of him. The tip of a knife sliced across his face. Danny flinched at the sting of the shallow cut. The blade gleamed in the moonlight that managed to break through the canopy of leaves above them. Danny realized immediately it was a silver dagger, possibly effective against a werewolf but completely ineffective against a half ghost.

"Give me the child," demanded the man, his mask muffling his voice.

"You'll have to go through me." Danny glared, his eyes glowing brighter with his anger.

"I'd really rather not kill an innocent person." The man swiped his silver blade, but Danny shifted himself and Bentley intangible.

"D---ny!" Kwan shouted in his ear. "Wha--s goin- -n?" His panicked voice came in broken fragments. Danny's powers always messed with the communication devices. He was certain they could find a way to fix that, but now was hardly the time to think on it.

"You're not taking this boy." Danny fired an energy blast. It struck the man in the chest, knocking him back several feet. "Bentley," he glanced over his shoulder to see Bentley struggling to keep quiet as tears and snot ran down his face, "I want you to run home. Run as fast as you can. Don't stop for anything. Get home to your family. I'll stop this guy."

Bentley sniffled, terror in his eyes, but he nodded. Then he turned and ran off into the dark forest. Hopefully, he would make it home safely.

"You're going to regret that decision," the man said, grunting as he climbed to his feet. He pressed a hand to his chest, shoulders hunched forward. His posture didn't scream threatening or imposing, but Danny knew better than to let his guard down after years of fighting ghosts, hunters, and various supernatural beings.

Danny's mouth curled in a small smirk. He couldn't help feeling confidant when his opponent looked like he could barely stand on his feet. The man charged forward. Danny turned intangible to avoid the knife catching him a second time. He kicked the man in the leg. The man dropped to one knee. With a shout, he shot up, swinging a fist on Danny's jaw. The punch failed to connect, and the man stumbled through Danny.

"We can keep this up all night if you want." Danny turned around with his hands on his hips. "But I don't think either of us really want to do that."

The man spun around, raising the dagger above his head. Danny caught the man's wrist before the dagger had a chance to stab him. He preferred to keep this fight short so he could get home quickly.

"Stupid ghost," the man muttered.

Danny's brow creased, but he didn't get the chance to puzzle out the statement.

_Bang!_

Danny stumbled back, releasing his hold on the man's wrist. Pain bloomed in his shoulder. The man laughed as he kicked Danny in the stomach, sending him to the ground with a shout. His shoulder screamed. It wasn't his first time being shot. But why did it feel like fire was eating through his veins?

The man loomed over Danny. He pointed his pistol at Danny's head. "Say good-" A punch to the head cut him off, and he hit the ground with a grunt.

A smile flitted across Danny's face when he saw Dash. "Great timing."


	10. Chapter 10

Dash ran. His heart pounded as he weaved his way through the trees, following the directions Kwan told him over the communication device hooked over his ear. At a time like this, Dash was glad Kwan stayed back to monitor their locations if they decided to split up during patrols to cover more ground.

_He can handle himself in a fight. Ugh, I know that!_ But even knowing that, Dash still worried. All he knew about what was currently happening with Danny was whatever Kwan told him, which wasn't a whole lot beyond location as Danny focused more on fighting than giving a play-by-play description of his fight.

_Bang!_

Dash froze, his breath catching in his throat. His mind immediately filled with terrible thoughts, which he prayed were all wrong.

"Dash! Dash!" Kwan shouted franticly into his ear. "I don't know what happened, but get over there _now_!"

"I know!" Dash yelled back, angry with himself for hesitating. Danny could need his help! This was no time to stand around dumbly in shock. Dash continued running toward Danny's location. When he reached the scene, he didn't let himself stop. He tried not to think about Danny lying on the ground, not when there was masked weirdo standing over him with a gun pointed at his head. He charged forward with rage burning through him.

"Say good-"

Dash slammed his fist into the side of the man's head with all his strength. The gun flew from his grip. Another shot fired. The bullet pierced the trunk of a tree three feet to Danny's right. The masked man hit the ground and lay there, motionless. Dash's hand throbbed, but he ignored it as he turned to Danny.

"Great timing." Danny smiled. Then his face contorted in pain. His hand clasped against his shoulder, ectoplasm oozing over his hand.

"Shit!" Dash raced over to Danny and knelt at his side as a thousand more curses ran through his head.

"Language," Danny said with a slight quirk of his mouth despite his grimacing.

"What? What is it? What happened?" Kwan demanded. "Someone tell me what's going on!"

"Danny was shot," Dash answered, pressing his own hand over Danny's to help put pressure on the wound. "It looks pretty bad. We might have to take him to the hospital."

Danny whined in protest. Dash could understand why Danny didn't want to go to the hospital, especially with ectoplasm all over him. But Dash didn't know how to take care of a bullet wound! They never had that problem when it came to injuries during football season.

The masked man laughed, dragging himself slowly to his hands and knees. "No hospital will be able to save him."

"What-" Dash's shock boiled back into anger. 'What did you do to him?" His voice was low and slow with the hint of a threat not even subtly seeping into it.

"You think this is my first time running into a waste of ectoplasm clinging desperately to its pathetic existence?" The man laughed as he climbed to his feet. "Everything has a weakness. And it just so happens I know his. It might be slow," he shrugged, reaching a hand behind his back, "but it works. And it's not very pleasant." He whipped his arm around, aiming a gun at Dash. "Perhaps you'd-"

Dash wanted to charge at the man again, knock him on his ass and pound him into a bloody meat patty. He hadn't felt rage like that since the incident with Bryce. But he hardly moved when something sprang out of the bushes. The movement was so fast, Dash could barely track it. A swift chop to the wrist, and the gun hit the ground. The man was bent forward, taking a knee to the gut, then a hard elbow to the nose. Standing up straight again, a hand gripped the man's throat, squeezing as sharp nails dug in, and probably would have caused bleeding if not for the thick material of his turtleneck. As a teenager, Dash might never have believed the sight before him. The woman holding the man by the throat was short, reaching maybe only up to Dash's nose. But Valerie had taught Dash not to underestimate a woman's strength. This woman certainly proved she was more than capable taking out an opponent, no matter their size.

"You're lucky I'm not ripping your throat out," she said, her voice cold, steely, deadly. She didn't take her eyes off the man when she asked, "How is your friend?"

Dash stared dumbly for a minute before realizing the question was directed at him. He dropped his gaze to Danny, who gritted his teeth as sweat trickled down his face. "Not good." His heart pinched. A normal bullet probably wouldn't be a problem for Danny. He could phase it out of him, and his ghost powers would help with the healing, though Dash and Kwan would worry regardless. But this bullet was causing Danny pain that Dash couldn't explain. Danny clearly was trying not to make any noise, probably some ridiculous notion that if he didn't scream out, it would make Dash worry less.

"Can you carry him?"

Dash lifted his head then gulped at the fierce look on the woman's face. She would _definitely_ tear him apart if she wanted to. "Yes. But why?"

"Then follow me." She rammed the man's head into a tree hard enough to crack the bark. Then man fell limp, unconsciousness ending his struggle against her hold. She hoisted him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Then she ran.

"I don't know what exactly is happening here, but try to keep pressure on that." Dash lifted Danny into his arms. This time Danny couldn't hold back his shout. Being moved must have sent a new jolt of pain surging out from his shoulder. "Sorry," Dash murmured, hating that he caused Danny more pain.

Kwan fell silent at some point during the whole exchange. Dash would be more concerned about that fact if his attention wasn't focused on Danny. He followed after the woman, hoping she was indeed an ally. Maybe she knew Danny. But asking Dash how his "friend" was suggested against that idea. If she knew him, she would have asked about his condition by naming him.

As he ran, Dash glanced frequently down to Danny. He looked paler than usual, his skin clammy with sweat. What was that peeking out from his collar? Dash didn't have the time to stop and examine it, but he didn't like the look of it. He couldn't let Danny die! He picked up his pace, his worry and fear urging his legs to move faster than he thought possible. Too much time seemed to pass, but they eventually broke out of the woods and soon came to a small neighborhood. The woman led the way down the street to one of the houses. Dash could believe it was a normal, quiet neighborhood, but - His eyes turned back to the woman ahead of him. She certainly wasn't normal. He didn't need Danny to tell him to know it.

She stopped when she reached a two-story house, the siding pale blue with white accents on the door and windows. The door was open, and a tall man stood on the front step. Dash would find it entirely believable if he saw the man bench pressing a school bus with how beefy his arms were. He had a bit of scruff on his cheeks and down his neck like he forgot to shave for a few days. His belly hung a bit over the waistband of his pants.

"You've got a patient," she told the man. "Ghost. Shot in the shoulder. I'll be back once I've dealt with this garbage." As soon as the man nodded, she took off running again.

Dash was breathing hard, a stabbing pain radiating from his side. He doubted he could keep up with her if he had to follow after her again. She looked like she hardly broke out into a sweat during their run. Dash focused on the man, but he still felt some uncertainty about these unknown people.

"Name's Korbin. Follow me." He walked into the house.

"I'm not really sure what's going on," Dash admitted, hesitantly trailing after him. "But my friend needs some serious medical attention."

"That's me." Korbin grinned, closing the front door after Dash entered the house. "I'll have him fixed up in no time." He paused after he turned to walk through the front hall. "Well, not no time. It'll definitely take some time. But - I should stop wasting time. Sorry. Amari always tells me I'm too chatty." He led the way through the house then down into the basement, which actually looked more like a medical laboratory than what Dash thought of as a basement. "Lay him on the table."

Dash did as instructed, gently laying Danny down on the padded table in the center of the room. The dark veins crept farther up Danny's neck.

"First, let's get him out these clothes." They stripped Danny of his coat and shirt. Danny barely managed to bite back a shout when his shoulder was jostled. "That is not looking good." Korbin leaned in to better look at gunshot wound and the dark veins spreading from the injury.

"What's causing that?" Dash couldn't keep the worry out of his voice. That was definitely not something normal for a gunshot wound.

"The only thing that would effect a ghost like this is Blood Blossom poison. Hold him down." Korbin turned to his medical tools. "This is probably going to hurt a lot."

"What is-" Dash winced when Danny screamed as Korbin dug into the wound to retrieve the bullet. He hated it. He hated that strangled noise laced with pain. He hated having to fight Danny to hold him down against the table when his body jerked.

"Blood Blossom poison?" Korbin glanced to Dash. "It only affects ghosts, which is good for us. Us, being the pack of werewolves. Well, not me. I'm all human. But that's not important right now." He pulled the bullet free after some careful maneuvering. "I thought we had gotten rid of that patch we found growing in the wild. I kept some so I could study them and make an antidote for Blood Blossom poison. Hopefully."

"That doesn't sound too confident."

"Well, we haven't had a whole lot of contact with ghosts, so I haven't exactly gotten to test the antidote out." Korbin winced. "But it's our best shot right now. No one else is going to be able to save him."

Dash took hold of Danny's hand, squeezing it tightly. "You're going to be okay."


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny was shot. Kwan bolted out of the apartment and raced off to find his boyfriends.

The tires screeched on the pavement as Kwan slammed on the breaks. His heart was beating too fast and wouldn't calm down, no matter how much he tried to tell himself everything would be all right. The gunshot kept playing over in his head, and his imagination decided to run wild with every bad scenario it could think up. Shaking his head, he tried to squash out those images. The locators for Dash and Danny told him they were both in the same place, and that place was, strangely, in a seemingly nice neighborhood.

Kwan parked the car and took a deep breath. It didn't help as much as he hoped to calm himself. He was too worried about Dash and Danny. Living in Amity park told him that a normal, peaceful neighborhood could be the complete opposite, though he never imagined he would have to deal with anything other than ghosts until now. He regretted not grabbing one of Danny's ghost hunting weapons, but in his rush to reach Dash and Danny, he didn't even think about it. He jumped out of the car, not even noticing if the door closed as he ran toward the front door of the house. He glanced at his locator to double check that he had the location right. The house before him looked normal enough, but his mind kept supplying the image of a mad scientist's laboratory in the basement.

_BAM!_

The air was knocked out of him when he was slammed against the front door. The locator slipped from his hand, hitting the front steps with a crack. He pushed on the door, but the arm pressed against his back kept him firmly in place.

"Who are you?" demanded the woman. "And you would be wise to choose your words carefully."

Kwan swallowed hard. "I'm just trying to find my friends!"

"Friends?" Her arm pressed harder into his back.

"They went patrolling tonight."

"Hunters!" She flipped him around and seized his throat in one swift movement.

Kwan had zero time to react. The hand nearly cut off his air when it squeezed his throat, and the woman's eyes glowed a dangerous, vibrant red. His first thought was: _She's going to kill me!_ "No!" he protested, wheezing. "Not hunters! He found a boy in the woods and was taking him back to family. He got shot. I got worried. So I came to find him."

She blinked, her eyes shifting to dark brown. It reminded Kwan of the way Danny's eyes would shift. "Your friend was shot?" She retracted her hand, and Kwan took a deep breath, rubbing at his throat. "Oh," she winced, "I'm so sorry! I was afraid you might be one of that hunter's goons."

Kwan held up a hand as he recovered from being choked. "I completely understand. You have to protect your family."

"When my boy came flying through the front door," her mouth twisted unpleasantly, "he was supposed to be asleep in his room, yelling about hunters, you can understand why I might panic about there being more than one."

Kwan nodded. "And you - Danny! The gunshot!" The fear and worry hit him again like a bucket of ice water being dumped on him.

"Take a breath." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay. My husband will make sure everything is okay. Let's go inside. I'll fix you a nice cup of tea." She opened the door and led him inside.

Kwan took deep breaths, trying to remain calm as he followed her to the kitchen. It was hard not to worry, and he knew he was too much the mother hen sometimes when the people he cared about were hurt. He almost jumped when she held a mug of steaming tea in front of his face.

"Trust me. I've been in your position more times than I can count. Every member of my pack is family, even if it's not by blood. And with hunters around, we've had our fair share of injuries. But Korbin is the best doctor I've ever met. Your friend is in good hands."

Kwan smiled as he accepted the tea. "Thanks. I don't doubt his skills. I just worry too much."

"You can stop worrying now."

Kwan snapped his head around toward the kitchen doorway. The woman cupped her hands around his, keeping him from dropping the mug. Dash supported Danny, an arm wrapping around his waist. Danny looked pale and exhausted, but other than that, he seemed fine. Kwan didn't recognize the man behind them but assumed he must be Korbin.

"I'm fine," Danny assured him with a smile. "Just have to be careful with my shoulder until the wound heals fully."

"It was a bit touch and go there for a bit," Korbin admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I've never had the opportunity to test the antidote for blood blossoms on a ghost."

"Half ghost," Danny corrected.

"Question," Kwan said, frowning as the woman took the mug from his hands. He would have to remember to ask for her name later. "What are blood blossoms?" His gaze focused on Danny, who shifted nervously.

"Turns out there is something that's deadly for ghosts." Dash frowned at Danny too.

"In my defense," Danny held up a hand then winced because of his injured shoulder, "I didn't think they grew in the wild anymore."

"Amari, you should send another team to check the forest again," Korbin suggested.

Amari sighed tiredly as she set the mug down on the kitchen table. "I thought for certain we got rid of it all. But it can't hurt to double check."

"I don't know how we can thank you for your help." Kwan crossed the room to where Dash and Danny stood. Resisting the urge to check Danny over was difficult, but he somehow managed. Danny laced his fingers with Kwan's, giving his hand a squeeze as he smiled reassuringly. Danny was alive and well. Kwan tried to let that fact ease his worries.

Amari shook her head. "Your friend already did enough by keeping our son safe."

"I was just doing my job." Danny stood up a little straighter. "Uh, but what do you plan to do with that hunter? Just curious."

"We have no plans to torture and kill him, if that's what you're worrying about," Amari said with a small shrug. "We'll try to get some information out of him about any hunters he knows. If there are more hunters in the area, we'd like to know so we can keep the pack safe."

Danny nodded in understanding. They didn't want to kill anyone. Their only goal was to protect their pack. "I don't particularly like hunters, especially when they go after children, but I prefer not killing. I'll leave his fate in your hands though."

"I hope it doesn't sound rude, but we should probably consider heading home soon," Dash said. "I'm sure you don't want us hanging around all night, and it's already pretty late, and we have a thing tomorrow."

Korbin chuckled as he slapped a hand to Dash's back. "It's not rude at all. I do wish we were meeting under better circumstances." His eyes lit up, and a big smile split his face. "You should come over! We'll barbeque! I'm sure Bentley will want to see you again." He placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, careful not be rough with his injury.

Danny nodded. "We have plans tomorrow. But another day would work."

Amari walked over to the kitchen counter and pulled out a pad from a drawer. She jotted something down before ripping off the top page. Then she walked over to where they all stood by the kitchen door. "Our phone number. Call us when you're free, and we can set something up." She handed the paper to Kwan, who folded it up and tucked it into his wallet. The couple walked them to the front door. "Drive home safely."

After a round of goodbyes and Kwan scooping up the broken locator, they headed for the car. It would take some work getting the locator working again, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

"There aren't," Kwan side eyed Danny as they reached the car, "any other deadly plants or the like to ghosts that we should know about, right?"

"I promise blood blossoms are the only thing." Danny's tone was deadly serious, but Kwan still gave him a quick glance over like he was expecting to catch Danny in a lie.

"We just don't want you to get poisoned and have no idea how to save you," Dash said, his concern clear in his voice and on his face. "Which reminds me, next time we see them, we should ask Korbin for that antidote. Just in case."

"That's a good idea." Kwan nodded as they climbed into the car. He turned back in his seat, unable to stop his tendency to worry. "It did work, right? No ill effects or anything?"

Danny's head bobbed. "It worked. I'm just a bit tired after the whole blood blossom poisoning. I promise I'll say something if I feel anything off."

Kwan frowned with concern, but he nodded. "Okay." He wished he could flip a switch and shut off his worrying, but Danny was getting better about not hiding things from them. The car ride back to their apartment was a quiet one, each one of them feeling the exhaustion from the night's excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I'm still writing! I've just been having some burn out/writer's block/etc. lately. So chapters might be slow, but I'm still poking at stuff here and there!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny's still feeling some of the effects from the blood blossoms, but staying in bed isn't an option.

"You can't sleep all day," Kwan said, giving him a shake.

Danny grumbled into the pillow. He still felt a little drained from last night, and his shoulder ached dully. During the night, he had to be careful not to accidentally roll onto that shoulder or the dull ache turned into a persistent throb. If the bullet were normal, his wound would have healed completely by now. Because of the blood blossom lacing the bullet, his healing was much slower, even after Korbin gave him the antidote.

Something brushed up the arch of his foot. Danny jerked up, shoving himself to the wall at the head of the bed. Dash stood at the other end, half bent over with his hand still outstretched. A smirk curled onto his face, and Danny scowled at him. Grabbing a pillow, he flung it at Dash, who ducked out of the way as he laughed.

"You should probably get up before Kwan gets mad." Dash nodded toward Kwan who folded his arms with a displeased frown.

"It won't look good if our guests arrive and you're still asleep in bed."

Danny held back a sigh at Kwan's stern stare. "Sorry." He sighed as he climbed out of bed. "I really didn't expect that blood blossom to affect me so much."

Kwan frowned in concern. "How is your shoulder?"

"Sore." Danny rubbed at the wounded shoulder. "But once my healing kicks back in, it'll be like I never got shot."

"That had to be the most scared I've ever been in my life," Dash admitted. Though he tried to shrug it off, he couldn't completely hide his worry. "Next to the whole Kwan dashing out of the school because you disappeared thing."

"I," Danny pointed at him, "had no control over that. And as for the blood blossoms, I really had no idea any hunters even knew about that, let alone figured out how to utilize it for fighting ghosts. I swear I will be a lot more careful about it in the future."

"We know you're not completely reckless, but-" Kwan shook his head. "I guess I don't need to keep repeating that we worry about you."

"I'll try to be better about it. I don't mean to make you worry." Danny rubbed at the back of his neck as he lowered his gaze. He hated to make the people he cared about worry, but he also couldn't sit back when people needed his help. "We should probably get started on preparing brunch." He looked down at himself. "And I think I'll shower before that."

"We'll get started on the food." Kwan dropped his hands on Dash's shoulders and ushered him out of the door.

Danny headed for the bathroom. Once inside, he pulled off his shirt then carefully peeled away the bandage. The gunshot wound didn't look as gruesome as last night. It had healed up pretty well, but not nearly as well as when his healing worked properly. He frowned as he ran his fingers over the injury, yet another scar. Blood blossoms. He never imagined he would run into that deadly plant again. How did this hunter know about it? Maybe Amari could get some answers out of the hunter.

He hopped into the shower. The warm water felt nice, and he may have stood under the spray for a minute or two just soaking in that feeling. He washed up in hurry then got dressed before he made his boyfriends angry. He wasn't trying to get out of helping out, but sometimes it was hard to want to get out of the shower. After dressing, he joined Dash and Kwan in the kitchen to work on brunch.

Someone knocked on the door as they were setting up the table for their gathering. Kwan jogged over to the door, leaving Dash and Danny to finish with the table. Danny glanced over as Kwan opened the door then smiled when he heard Hayley greet him. As soon as the table was ready, Danny and Dash walked over to join the others at the door.

"Come in," Kwan said, stepping aside so Hayley and Celeste could enter the apartment.

"We brought a little cake." Celeste held out the white box. "Since someone," she rolled her eyes to Hayley, "insisted we should bring something. And it's too early in the day for wine."

Danny chuckled as he took the box. "Thanks. Can we get you anything to drink?"

"Water is fine." Celeste hung up her coat then turned to help Hayley out of hers.

"Water. Do you need help with anything?"

"No, I think we have everything-" Dash answered until a knock interrupted him. He opened the door again as Hayley and Celeste stepped farther into the apartment so they weren't blocking the entrance.

"Sorry we're late!" Mirabelle said in a rush before Dash could even say hello.

Danny tried and failed to hold back a smile as he took the cake out of the box and set it on a serving plate. "You're not late at all."

"See?" Will chuckled, kissing Mirabelle on her temple. "I told you we'd be fine. Besides, I'm sure they don't mind if we come a little late. Ah!" He looked up to realize there were other people in the apartment. "I'm Will." He held out a hand. "And this is my wife Mirabelle and our son Noah."

"Oh! He's so cute!" Hayley squealed then flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry. I'm Hayley." She shook Will's hand.

"Celeste." After shaking his hand, Celeste wrapped a hand around Hayley's waist.

"You're welcome to hold him. He finally decided to stop being fussy." Mirabelle stared down at her son with a mock stern expression, but when Noah made a giggling noise and clapped his hands, she broke back into a fond smile.

"Maybe we should move this to the table," Kwan suggested. "And do you have drink preferences?"

Dash closed the door as everyone moved toward the table. Danny and Kwan took care of drinks and carrying over the plates of food. Danny couldn't deny a part of him was nervous about this whole brunch gathering, but so far it seemed like everyone was getting along.

"So how do you know the guys?" Hayley asked as they all settled down to eat brunch.

Will shot a glance to Danny, who nodded. "Danny and I dated for a while in college, also rival swimmers. Now we coach the swim teams at the schools we teach at."

"How do you two know them?" Mirabelle returned the question.

"I dated Danny for a while," Hayley said.

"And I had a blind date with Dash."

"Past tense?" Mirabelle glanced toward Danny.

"It was all mutual. No dramatic breakups or anything. And we decided to stay friends."

"And it turned out for the best," Hayley added, sharing a fond look and smile with Celeste. "Since without us meeting them, we wouldn't have met and fallen in love."

"Aw! Congrats!" Mirabelle looked like she was ready to jump up and give the two women a crushing hug if she wasn't currently holding Noah.

"That's a pretty amazing 'how did you meet' story." Will scooped some of the salad onto his plate. His attention turned to their three hosts. "So it felt like you had something important to say when you invited us to this brunch?"

Danny took a quick sip of his water. "Well," he set his glass down, "we thought we'd invite you all over to tell you-" He glanced to his boyfriends. A wave of nervousness suddenly washed over him, as silly as that seemed to him.

"We're dating," Dash said bluntly. "All three of us. One couple."

Hayley grinned. "I thought there was something there." She nudged Danny's arm with her elbow. "I'm really happy for the three of you."

"So of the people here, only Mirabelle and I haven't dated Danny." Celeste laughed when Danny's face burned with a blush.

"Does make you curious about how good a kisser he is, doesn't it?" Mirabelle's voice was light and teasing.

"He's good, but I definitely prefer your kisses more." Will leaned over to share a brief kiss with Mirabelle.

"Am I a good kisser?" Danny turned to his boyfriends curiously.

Dash almost choked as he sipped from water, his cheeks growing red. The question clearly caught him by surprised.

Kwan reached over to pat his back as Dash coughed. "I certainly enjoy your kisses."

"Ugh, they're cute," Celeste said, pretending to be disgusted by them. "But I'm happy for all of you. I guess you really did have some things you needed to figure out."

"Yeah." Dash nodded. "But once I stopped being stupid, everything worked out."

"I vote we do this again some time," Will suggested.

Everyone agreed it was a good idea, and Danny relaxed, happy that everyone was getting along.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something from Danny's past gets brought up to his boyfriends.

"Since when did you grow a beard?"

Dash looked up from reviewing some things for class tomorrow right as Danny choked on a sip of his water. He tried not to snicker, but the reaction was a little funny.

"What?" Danny gasped out after coughing to clear his throat. "How - Who said anything about that?"

"Tucker and I have been chatting," Kwan explained, flicking his gaze to Danny before turning back to his phone. "When he mentioned you had a beard once, I didn't believe him. He sent pictures."

Dash didn't realize it was possible for someone's face to turn so red until he saw Danny's face growing steadily darker. "Oh, I have got to see this!" He got up, crossing the room before Danny could scramble up from his seat and stop him.

Kwan turned the phone for him to see once Dash joined him in the kitchen. On the screen was a picture of a younger Danny with his hair buzzed short and scruffiness on his chin. Dash bit his tongue, barely holding back a snort of laughter. Danny groaned, burying his face in his hands as he slowly strolled over to them.

"It was a terrible decision that Tucker wouldn't stop teasing me about so I shaved it after a week." Danny looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Getting my hair cut like that wasn't a good idea either."

"Everyone makes terrible decisions at some point." Kwan chuckled and nudged Dash in the side. "Remember that mustache you tried to grow?"

"Ugh! Why did you bring that up?" Dash groaned. "You're not going to show him those pictures, are you?"

"We got to see his embarrassing pictures," Kwan pointed out.

"I hate when you're all reasonable sometimes." Dash sighed but knew Kwan was right, even if it was highly embarrassing. "This isn't fair at all, though." He leaned back against the counter as he folded his arms. "You actually looked good with the long hair." He grinned when he spotted Danny's puzzled look. "Paulina and Valerie loved playing with it. Well, Paulina mostly. I think we have a bunch of pictures from that."

"It's still a little embarrassing." Kwan blushed. "I ended up cutting it after a month because it got annoying having it long."

Danny squinted then, after a minute or two, nodded his head. "I can see it. You'd definitely look good with long hair."

"Oh, he did." Dash grinned as Kwan's blush darkened. "I didn't appreciate it then, but you did look really good." He reached over, running his fingers through the back of Kwan's hair. "Maybe you should grow it out a bit."

"I tried that once. I don't plan on doing it again."

Dash sighed. "Well, I tried. At least we have pictures." He turned to Kwan, a frown settling on his face. "How long have you been in contact with Tucker?"

"Since we went ice skating?" Kwan shrugged. "We got along pretty well, so we decided to keep chatting. We text every once and a while." He winced as he set his phone on the counter. "I'm not sure about Sam though. Does she still hate me for the poetry slam thing?"

"She doesn't hate you." Danny slipped his hand into Kwan's hand. "And she wants to get along with you and Dash because she wants me to be happy with the people that I love. But," a small grin tugged at his mouth, "I think staying away from poetry slams when you're hanging out with her is a good idea."

"Noted." Kwan laughed.

Dash guessed he should probably make more of an effort to talk to Danny's friends. He hadn't said a word to them ever since they when ice skating over the winter break. "So, dinner? Do you need any help?"

"Only if you want to help. But you can keep working on school stuff if you need to."

Dash rolled his eyes. "That won't take me long to finish." He moved the cutting board in front him and grabbed a knife to cut some vegetables. He caught a smile on Kwan's face as the three of them worked on different parts of cooking their dinner. Even though they rotated who cooked, Dash still liked these moments when they all took part in it. It was a nice quiet moment among them. He smiled as he focused on the vegetables. This was the kind of relationship he always hoped for, even when he didn't know what he wanted.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kwan wakes up to a surprise.

Kwan stretched as he walked out of the bedroom. After a long week, he wanted nothing more than to sleep in, but his internal clock obnoxiously kept telling him it was time to wake up. He glanced back into the bedroom, almost jealous as Dash and Danny continued to sleep in their bed. Shaking his head, he walked to the kitchen. He wasn't about to interrupt their sleep just because he was now wide awake.

When he reached the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator, weighing his breakfast options. A wolfish whistle made him jump and spin around, the refrigerator door slamming shut in the process. Sitting on the couch, a woman had her feet up on the coffee table and a magazine resting in her lap. She grinned impishly, and Kwan could only stare mutely back. Who was this woman? How did she get into their apartment? And why did she look remarkably similar to Danny? She could have been his twin, if Danny had a sibling other than Jazz. Kwan was fairly certain Danny didn't have a twin sister.

Kwan turned his head but kept his eyes on the woman. "Danny!"

After some muffled mumbling, Danny appeared in the bedroom doorway. "What is it?" He rubbed tiredly at his eyes, clearly wishing he could return to bed from the exhaustion on his face.

"We have a guest." Kwan nodded toward the woman on the couch.

Danny glanced over, and the woman gave him a little wave. "Elle?" He frowned as he scratched the side of his head. "What are you doing here? I thought we weren't meeting up until this afternoon."

That cleared up one mystery. Danny did, in fact, know this woman who looked too much like him that it was starting to freak Kwan out a bit.

"Yeah, well." The woman, Elle, shrugged and seemed to think it was no big deal that she broke into their apartment. "I got here early, and I wanted to see your new place. It is so much better than that piece of garbage apartment you were living in before. Can that place even be called an apartment? I mean, even I have never lived in a place as terrible as that apartment was."

Danny rolled his eyes as he walked farther into the room. "Yeah, well, at the time it was the best I could afford on my own. All the decent apartments would have required a roommate."

"Um," Kwan raised his hand then dropped it with a flush burning on his cheeks when both of them glanced toward him, "can one you explain what exactly is going on?"

Danny and Elle exchanged a look. "Right. I guess I forgot." He raked a hand through his hair then walked over to where Kwan stood. "You see, back when Vlad was kind of evil-"

"Kind of?" Elle arched an eyebrow, but Danny shushed her.

"He's not like that anymore. He regrets his past actions." Danny ignored Elle's snort. "At one point during our fighting, Vlad had it in his head that he wanted the perfect son. Well, I wasn't going to be that for him, so-" He trailed off, looking away, and Kwan's brow furrowed, already not liking this story. "He decided to use some of my DNA to create the perfect son. Um," his gaze flicked toward Elle, "they were all unstable without a key part from me. They all melted except for Elle."

Kwan's eyes nearly bugged out of their socket as he snapped his gaze to Elle. She was a clone? Of Danny? It explained why they looked so much alike, but it still boggled his mind.

"I managed to hold myself together to stay alive," Elle explained, waving it off like she was talking about something mundane like doing the dishes. "It wasn't until much later that I finally got stabilized thanks to one of Danny's dad's inventions."

"Sometimes my parents' mistakes end up being exactly what I need." Danny shrugged, but Kwan could tell from the look on his face that it was incredibly lucky that Mr. Fenton made exactly what Elle needed to become a stable clone, even if it was by accident.

"I can't tell you how glad I was for that. Living every day in fear that it could be your last because your molecules finally break down enough to dissolve your entire being is absolutely terrifying." Elle stood up, placing her hands on her hips.

Kwan nodded as he tried to digest everything. He couldn't even imagine what Elle must have felt every day, but he was glad they were able to sort things out so she no longer had to live in fear. "Um," he shook his head, "sorry." He turned to Danny, lifting his eyebrow in question. "But why the sudden appearance? Also, why didn't you tell us you had a clone?"

Danny winced. "I swear I wasn't keeping it secret." He rubbed at his face. "I just didn't even think about it. But I would have said something eventually. It hasn't even been a year since I told you that I'm Phantom. You can't really expect me to have told you every little detail about my life as Phantom in such a short period of time."

"Well," Kwan frowned, scratching his head, "it would have been nice to know about her before she just showed up randomly at our place."

"Not entirely random," Elle said then shrugged when Kwan glanced at her.

"I asked her to come." Danny sighed, head bowing like he was waiting for another lecture to come. "After that hunter showed up, I thought it would be a good idea to reach out and see if any other hunters have been spotted in the area. So I called Elle to come. She's pretty well connected, so she could help make the search go a bit faster." He frowned with a troubled look in his eyes. "If hunters are moving in to this area, I want to know. That one I met in the forest? He was ready to kill Bentley! Imagine if a hunter like him found out about Jeremy and his brother being necromancers? The werewolf pack can probably take care of themselves, but there are others who might be completely defenseless if a hunter came after them."

"Hey," Kwan pulled Danny into a hug, "we're not going to let anything happen to them. You don't have to deal with these hunters by yourself." Danny relaxed in his embrace.

"Aw, how cute! I'm sending that to everyone."

Kwan suddenly found himself holding empty air.

"Elle, no!" Danny shouted as he chased after Elle, who held her phone over her head and danced around the room just out of Danny's reach. Kwan bit his tongue to stop himself from laughing at the scene.


End file.
